- Vinfast recalled 4,888 VF 8 electric SUVs
- The central airbag located in the driver's seat may be installed incorrectly
- Vinfast will replace the airbag free of charge
Vinfast is recalling VF 8 electric vehicles due to faulty airbags that could injure drivers.
Remembering includes 4,888 vehicles from the 2023 to 2025 model years. The central airbag placed in the driver's seat in these vehicles “may deploy improperly” during an impact, striking the driver's arm and potentially causing injury, according to NHTSA.
Vinfast estimates that 100% of vehicles returned had this defect, which the automaker said it became aware of after an NHTSA inspection in June that led to a safety investigation.
2023 Vinfast VF 8
The injuries are due to the cushion's position and the inflation angle of the original airbag design, which allows the airbag to deploy between the driver's arm and the driver's body in some situations, NHTSA said. Vinfast worked with the agency to redesign the central airbag with a different shape and deployment angle to prevent this from happening.
Dealers and service centers will replace the central airbag with one of the new designs for free. Vinfast initially pursued a direct sales model similar to Tesla, with company-owned showrooms and service centers, but began to shift to a paid dealer model in late 2023.
Vinfast expects that email owner notification letters Jan. 20, 2025. Owners can call the automaker's customer service department at 1-833-503-0600 for more information.
2023 Vinfast VF 8
The VF 8 is Vinfast's first car in the US market, but its launch didn't go well. Driving the first prototype showed that Vinfast has a long way to go, in terms of development, before the launch of the electric SUV in 2023. And follow-up testing of the production version led us to warn that, even at that stage, it is I wasn't feeling well at the moment. But Vinfast's first announced update was Sony's entertainment program which seemed to solve the VF 8's main problems.
Things haven't been going well for Vinfast since the launch of the VF 8. Earlier this year the company said it was lagging behind in sales targets and delayed a planned North Carolina factory. However, Vinfast is going ahead with the launch of its three-row VF 9 SUV.